Monthly Archives: January 2019

Last week we completed the 2018-2019 KHDA Inspection. The inspectors praised our community of students, parents, and teachers renewed focus on academic improvement, preparing the whole child for success in life and creating a caring community. Thank you for the support and care your family brings to the UAS community!

Please note, January 31st marks the end of the second quarter. To assist students in ensuring they will get the best grades possible, our Advisory Classes have gone through the Synergetic On-Line Gradebook completing the Student Review of their academic performance. As part of the review, students filled out a form to note any missing assignments. We now encourage parents to review Synergetic with your student, and the Advisory Form to check if a Student Plan for completing upcoming assessments or past due assignments needs to be prepared. Please reach out to your child’s advisory with any questions.

Teacher Spotlight

The teachers spotlight this week shines on Ms. Cris Meija, the Middle School Drama teacher, for organizing the upcoming UAS Fringe Festival.

Ms. Meija & UAS artists participating in the Fringe Festival

Ms. Meija describes the festival as an event designed to “foster equality and tolerant, in hone of the 2019 Year of Tolerance, by allowing all members of the school community, regardless of position, race, religion, social status to be seen in a new light.” The Fringe Festival is an evening in which students, support staff, teachers and parents create art together. In doing so, groups of community members produce several small performances that resemble Street Art. Come continue your engagement in the UAS Community of artists on Wednesday, January 30 from 5:30-8:30pm!

Regards,

Amanda Soliván

Upcoming Events

Friday, January 25th– Fun Fair fundraiser to support Special Needs Future Development Centre (information below)

On-Line Payments- From the Director
One thing that has not sat well with me since becoming Director is the way we ask you to pay accounts. I am so pleased to announce that effective January 1st, our online payment gateway has gone live. This will allow you to pay fees online for tuition, transport, After School Activities, WWW, cafeteria card re-charge and any other upcoming school trips and activities. Payments for uniform and other store purchases, will still have to be made at the accounts department. It comes at a cost to us, but we feel that it is important to absorb this cost to ensure our parents have the best possible experience to meet their responsibilities. While you will always be welcome to meet our accounts department, our new on-line system should make paying easier for everyone.

We are pleased to announce that our much anticipated International Day at UAS will be held on Saturday March 2, 2019. If you are interested in becoming an ambassador for your country at this event and to help with the organization of the event, please email us on ptso@uasdubai.ae. Please note that requests for country ambassadorship shall be given strictly on a first come basis.

Let’s join our efforts in making this a spectacular event where families and friends will be celebrating our school’s diversity and different cultures.

We hope the Winter Holiday has brought you and your child an opportunity to relax and rejuvenate. The end of the academic semester is coming in three weeks, so I encourage all students in the Middle School to quickly refocus on their academic pursuits. Next week the KHDA inspectors will be touring UAS, so we ask our students to welcome the guests.

Teacher Spotlight

The teachers spotlight this week shines on the PE teachers Josh Kachmarik and Mindy Halpern who organized the UAS Middle School House System. Below is a description of the House System.

The “House System”, aligns students, teachers and other members of the school community into subunits or “houses” that come together to participate in different competitions and while providing a support network for each individual. (Kind of like Gryffindor and Slithering from Harry Potter).

Each “House” is comprised of students from different grade levels as well as teachers, administrators and support staff in order to create a greater sense of community and belonging and transition from the elementary school into the middle school and with their same “Houses.”

What are the Houses?

Red Foxes

Green Gazelles

Purple Vipers

Black Falcons

Yellow Leopards

When did the House System start? Students were assigned to their houses on the last day before the Winter Holiday. Student Advisory can remind students of their assigned house.

How are students assigned to a House? Students were assigned to their “Houses” along with their advisory group based on a spin of “The Wheel of Fate” that randomly assigned each group to a house during the introductory assembly.

What Does a House System Do?

It provides a sense of belonging to individuals within the Middle School community.

It provides opportunities for development of social, intellectual, physical and practical skills through competitions and challenges in sport and other academic activities.

It provides opportunities for individuals to experience a sense of achievement both inside and outside the classroom.

It creates fun and excitement through competition and allows individuals to be part of a team that is bigger team than just their own class.

It will provide roles and opportunities for leadership.

Earning Points for Your House “Houses Points” can be earned through a variety of ways including house competitions, involvement in school wide house initiatives, and other positive behaviors such as:

Intramural House Competitions

Attendance & Tardy Challenges

MAP Results Challenge

Intramural Lunch Initiatives

Below is a video of our first House assembly. Have a great week!

Regards,

Amanda Soliván

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, January 9th, Week Without Walls International Trips Information Meetings